Disk player

ABSTRACT

A drive gear ( 30 ) is rotated by a motor ( 28 ). Drive force from a loading transmission gear ( 36 ), which constantly engages the drive gear ( 30 ), is constantly transmitted to a loading mechanism ( 20 ). In a pick-up moving mechanism ( 24 ), an idler gear ( 33 ), which constantly engages the drive gear ( 30 ), engages a pick-up transmission gear ( 82 ) to transmit drive force. The movement of a first slider ( 101 ) engages and disengages the idler gear ( 33 ) and the pick-up transmission gear ( 82 ). The first slider ( 101 ) is located at a first position when a disc (D) is not loaded, and is located at a second position when the disc (D) is loaded. A loading mechanism ( 20 ) ends a loading operation by moving the first slider ( 101 ) to a second position. The transmission and switching of drive force from a single motor to the loading mechanism ( 20 ) and the pick-up moving mechanism ( 24 ) is ensured.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a disc drive device for driving aloading mechanism and pick-up moving mechanism using a single motor.

BACKGROUND ART

In the conventional art, for example, among disc players for compactdiscs used to reproduce music and the like, there are known to be discplayers that reduce the number of motors by using a drive switchingmechanism to selectively drive a loading mechanism and pick-up movingmechanism using a single motor, as is disclosed, for example, inJapanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-298903.

This disc player is provided with an idler plate, which is rotatableabout the axis of a drive gear that is rotated by drive force from amotor and which functions as a drive switching mechanism. The idlerplate is rotated to a disc loading position for transmitting drive forceto the loading mechanism or to a pick-up moving position fortransmitting drive force to the pick-up moving mechanism in accordancewith the rotation direction of the drive gear by means of the frictiongenerated between the drive gear and an idler gear provided on the idlerplate. This switches the transmission of the drive force from the idlergear to one or another of the loading mechanism or the pick-up movingmechanism.

In disc players of this structure, a problem of operational instabilityoccurs because a neutral point is generated in the transmission of thedrive force at which the drive force of the drive gear is nottransferred from the idler gear to both the loading mechanism and thepick-up moving mechanism during the rotation of the idler plate. Whenthe drive transmission is switched by moving the idler gear between theloading mechanism and the pick-up moving mechanism, the operation isprevented from becoming unstable by moving the idler gear so as toengage an intermediate member arranged between the loading mechanism andthe pick-up moving mechanism.

Therefore, in a conventional disc player structure, a problem ofoperational instability occurs because a neutral point is generated inthe drive force transmission at which the drive force of the drive gearis not transferred from the idler gear to both the loading mechanism andthe pick-up moving mechanism during the rotation of the idler plate, andit becomes necessary to use a special intermediate member to solve theproblem. This leads to further problems of increasing the number ofparts and making the structure more complex.

Further problems of increasing structural complexity and increasing sizearise due to the need for a special locking means for locking the idlerplate at each position when it is rotated to the disc loading positionor the pick-up moving position, in order to allow the loading mechanismor pick-up moving mechanism to operate freely, and to allow forward andreverse rotation of the motor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a disc drive devicecapable of reliably transmitting and switching drive force from a singlemotor to a loading mechanism and a pick-up moving mechanism.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

A disc drive device includes a drive source, a transporting means forperforming an operation of transporting a disc with the transmission ofpower from the drive source, a moving means for moving a pick-up forreading information from the disc, and a power switching means fortransmitting power to the moving means. The power switching meansmaintains a first position until the disc is moved by the transportingmeans to a loading position, moves to a second position when the discreaches the loading position, stops the transport operation of the discuntil reaching the second position, and transmits power to the movingmeans.

A disc transport operation is implemented by the transporting means bytransmitting power from the drive source, the power switching means ismaintained at the first position until a disc is transported to theloading position by the transporting means, the power switching means ismoved to the second position when the disc arrives at the loadingposition, and the disc transport operation is stopped until the powerswitching means arrives at the second position and power is transmittedto the moving means for moving the pick-up. Therefore, since there is noneutral point in the transmission of the drive force at which the driveforce is not transmitted to both the transporting means and the movingmeans, the operational stability is achieved, and separate parts are notrequired to achieve this operational stability. This provides reliabletransmission and switching of the drive force from a single drivesource.

Further, a disc drive device of the present invention includes a drivegear rotated by a motor, a loading mechanism, which constantly engagesthe drive gear and to which drive force is transmitted for loading andunloading a disc, a pick-up moving mechanism for moving a pick-up, anidler gear constantly engaging the drive gear and separably engaging thepick-up moving mechanism, a first slider moved between a first position,which is maintained when a disc is not loaded at a recordingreproduction position, to engage and disengage the idler gear and thepick-up moving mechanism, and a second slider for moving the firstslider when power is transmitted from the drive gear.

In the loading mechanism, drive force is constantly transmitted to theloading mechanism, which constantly engages a drive gear rotated by asingle motor. Further, the pick-up moving mechanism, engages anddisengages an idler gear, which constantly engages the drive gear, suchthat the pick-up moving mechanism engages and disengages the idler gearby means of a first slider moved to a first position, which ismaintained when a disc is not loaded, and a second position, which ismaintained when a disc is loaded. Thus, since there is no neutral pointin the transmission of the drive force at which the drive force is nottransmitted to both the loading mechanism and the pick-up movingmechanism, operational stability is achieved, and separate parts are notrequired to achieve this operational stability, thereby providingreliable transmission and switching of the drive force from a singledrive source. Moreover, the structure is simple and the first slider canbe moved to each of the first and second positions by the second slider,which transmits drive force from the drive gear.

Further, a disc drive device of the present invention includes a drivegear rotated by a motor, a loading mechanism, including a loadingtransmission gear constantly engaging the drive gear, for loading andunloading a disc with drive force transmitted from the loadingtransmission gear, a pick-up moving mechanism, including a pick-uptransmission gear, for moving a pick-up with drive force transmitted tothe pick-up transmission gear, an idler gear constantly engaging thedrive gear and separably engaging the pick-up transmission gear, a firstslider moved between a first position, which is maintained when a discis not loaded, and a second position, which is maintained when a disc isloaded, to engage the idler gear and the pick-up transmission gear whenmoved to the second position and to disengage the idler gear and thepick-up transmission gear when moved to the second position, and asecond slider for moving the first slider to the second position bytransmitting drive force to the first slider located at the firstposition when loading the disc and moving the first a slider to thefirst position by transmitting the drive force from the drive gear tothe first slider located at the second position when unloading the disc.

In the loading mechanism, drive force is constantly transmitted by theloading transmission gear, which constantly engages the drive gearrotated by a single motor. In the pick-up transmission mechanism, theidler gear, which constantly engages the drive gear, engages anddisengages the pick-up transmission gear of the pick-up moving mechanismsuch that the pick-up transmission gear engages and disengages the idlergear by means of a first slider moving to a first position, which ismaintained when a disc is not loaded, and a second position, which ismaintained when a disc is loaded. Therefore, since there is no neutralpoint in the transmission of the drive force at which the drive force isnot transmitted to both the loading mechanism and the pick-up movingmechanism, the operational stability is achieved, and separate parts arenot required to achieve this operational stability, thereby providingreliable transmission and switching of the drive force from a singledrive source. Moreover, the structure is simple and the first slider canbe moved to each of the first and second positions by the second slider.

Further, the disc drive device of the present invention includes aslider drive gear rotated when drive force is transmitted from the drivegear. The second slider includes a rack moved together with the firstslider and being swingable relative to the first slider, held engagedwith the slider drive gear at a position intermediate to the firstposition and the second position, and separably engaged with the sliderdrive gear at the first position and the second position. An urgingmeans is provided for urging the second slider in a direction toseparate the rack from the slider drive gear.

At the first and second positions, if the second slider swings againstthe force of the urging means such that the rack engages the sliderdrive gear, then the first slider is moved together with the secondslider, and if the first slider is moved to each of the first and secondpositions, then the second slider is swung by the force of the urgingmeans and the rack is separated from the slider drive gear such thateach of the first and second sliders is stopped.

Further, the disc drive device of the present invention includes aloading side trigger member contacting the disc during loading andswinging the second slider located at the second position to engage therack with the slider drive gear, and an unloading side trigger membercontacting the pick-up side moving toward the center of the disc duringunloading and swinging the second slider located at the second positionto engage the rack with the slider drive gear.

During loading, the loading side trigger member, which is in contactwith the disc, swings the second slider, which is positioned at thefirst position, to engage the rack and the slider drive gear. Duringunloading, the unloading side trigger member, which is in contact withthe pick-up side moving toward the center of the disc, swings the secondslider positioned at the second position, and engages the rack and theslider drive gear.

Further, in the disc drive device of the present invention, theunloading side trigger member stops the pick-up by moving the firstslider from the second position and releases the pick-up by moving thefirst slider to the second position.

Since the unloading side trigger mechanism stops the pick-up by movingthe first slider from the second position, positional dislocation of thepick-up is prevented when a disc is not loaded.

Further, the disc drive device of the present invention includes areturn restricting means for restricting returning of the first sliderfrom either of the first and second positions.

The return of the first slider which has moved to the first or secondposition is restricted by the return restricting means, and operationalerror is prevented.

Further, in the disc drive device of the present invention, the discloading mechanism ends the loading operation by moving the first sliderto the second position and switches to the loading operation state bymoving the first slider from the second position.

The loading mechanism stops the loading operation by moving the firstslider to the second position and switches to the loading operation bymoving the first slider from the second position. Therefore, theswitching of the loading operation is reliably accomplished even thoughdrive power is constantly transmitted to the loading mechanism.

Further, in the disc loading device of the present invention, thepick-up moving mechanism includes a transmission cutting means forcutting the transmission of the drive force from the pick-uptransmission gear to the pick-up during the time from when the firstslider moves from the second position during unloading to when thetransmission of the drive force from the idler gear to the pick-uptransmission gear is cut.

The pick-up moving mechanism is provided with a transmission cuttingmeans for releasing the transmission of the drive force from the pick-uptransmission gear to the pick-up until the transmission of the driveforce from the idler gear to the pick-up transmission gear is releasedby the first slider moving from the second position during unloading.Thus, the unloading operation is permitted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial plan view showing a disc player according to a firstembodiment of the present invention when the first slider is at a firstposition;

FIG. 2 is a complete plan view showing the disc player when the firstslider is at the first position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the disc player in an explodedstate;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a switching mechanism of the discplayer in an exploded state;

FIG. 5 includes side views (a), (b), and (c) showing the disc player atvarious locations when the first slider is at the first position;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a chassis of the disc player when thefirst slider is at the first position;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a pick-up moving mechanism of the discplayer;

FIG. 8 is a partial side view showing the first slider of the discplayer;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the disc loading operation in continuationof FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the disc loading operation incontinuation of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the disc player when the first slider is at asecond position;

FIG. 12 includes side views (a), (b), and (c) showing the disc player atvarious locations when the first slider is at the second position;

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the chassis of the disc player when thefirst slider is at the second position;

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the disc unloading operation from thestate shown in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the disc unloading operation incontinuation from FIG. 14.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention is described hereinafter withreference to the drawings.

The disc accommodated by the disc player using the disc drive device ofthe present invention may be, for example, a compact disc for musicreproduction, and the example used in the following description is analbum-type 12 cm disc.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference number 11 refers to the body of a discplayer. The body 11 has a chassis 12 and a cover 13 mounted on the topsurface of the chassis 12. A disc insertion elongated hole 14 is formedon the front side for inserting and removing a disc D in a horizontalorientation. In the following description, the disc insertion elongatedhole 14 side of the body 11 in FIG. 2 is referred to as the front, theside opposite that of the disc insertion elongated hole 14 is referredto as the back, and the sides across from the disc insertion elongatedhole 14 are referred to as the right side and the left side.

A base 17 is supported in a floating state on the inner side of thechassis 12 by a plurality of dampers 18 and a plurality of suspensionsprings, which are not shown in the drawing. Arranged on this base 17are a drive unit 19 for both loading and chucking a disc D, a loadingmechanism 20 for loading a disc D and functioning as a transportingmeans for transporting the disc D with the transmission of power from adrive source, a disc rotation mechanism 21 for rotating the disc Dloaded to a reproduction position, which is an retaining position on thebase 17, a chuck mechanism 22 for chucking the disc D between itself andthe disc rotation mechanism 21, a pick-up 23 for optically readinginformation recorded on the disc D, a pick-up moving mechanism 24 formoving the pick-up 23 in the radial direction of the disc D andfunctioning as a moving means for moving the pick-up 23 which readsinformation from the disc D, and a switching means 25 for switchingoperations in accordance with the loading and unloading disc D.

The drive unit 19, which is arranged on the front side of the lowersurface of the base 17, has a motor 28 functioning as a drive source. Aworm gear 29 is mounted on the drive shaft of this motor 28. A drivegear 30 engages the worm gear 29. The drive gear 30 is rotatablysupported by a shaft 31 on the lower surface of the base 17. A swingplate 32 is arranged in a swingable manner about the shaft 31 of thedrive gear 30. An idler gear 33, which constantly engages the drive gear30, is rotatably supported on the swing plate 32.

In the loading mechanism 20, a loading transmission gear 36, whichconstantly engages the drive gear 30, and an intermediate gear 37, whichengages the loading transmission gear 36, are rotatably supported on thelower surface of the base 17. A worm gear 38, which engages theintermediate gear 37, and an end gear 39, which engages the worm gear38, are rotatably supported on the right side of the base 17. Driveforce is constantly transmitted to the end gear 39 and produces rotationwhen the motor 28 is actuated.

A guide plate 42 is arranged at the top side of the disc insertionelongated hole 14. A loading roller 43 is provided on the bottom sidefor holding and transporting the disc D between itself and the guideplate. The guide plate 42 is mounted on the lower surface of the coverplate 13. A disc positioning mechanism 44 is provided between the coverplate 13 and the guide plate 42 such that a disc D inserted in the discinsertion elongated hole 14 is inserted along the center line in theloading direction. A loading roller 43 is provided on the outer surfaceof a roller shaft 45. The two ends of the roller shaft 45 are rotatablysupported on a loading roller support 46. A gear 47, which is engagablewith the end gear 39, is mounted on the right end of the roller shaft45. The loading roller support 46 is supported so as to be swingable ona shaft 49 (shown in FIGS. 5( b) and (c)) on support members 48 providedon the two front ends of the base 17. The switching operation of theswitching mechanism 25 moves the loading roller support 46 to a loadingoperation position (position indicated in FIGS. 5( b) and (c)), at whichthe loading roller 43 is raised to a contact position for contacting thedisc D and the disc D is held between the loading roller 43 and theguide plate 42 while the gear 47 engages the end gear 39, and a loadingoperation release position (position indicated in FIGS. 12( b) and (c)),at which the loading roller 43 is lowered to a separation positionseparated from the disc D and the disc D is released from the loadingroller 43 and the guide plate 42 while the gear is disengaged from theend gear 39 to permit reproduction of the disc D. A spring 50 istensioned between the loading roller support 46 and the base 17. Thespring 50 urges the loading roller 43 to the loading position, which isthe raised position. The movement of the loading roller support 46 tothe loading position occurs when the chucking is released by the chuckmechanism 22, and the movement of the loading roller support 46 to theloading operation release position occurs when the chucking is performedby the chuck mechanism 22.

Near the two ends of the loading roller support 46, a contact 53 extendsdownward to contact with the side of the chassis 12 when the chucking isreleased and the loading roller 43 is raised to position of contact withthe disc D. Further, a guide 54 protrudes to engage the side of thechassis 12 and functions as a first positioning portion for stopping andpositioning the base 17 relative to the chassis 12 side in a directionparallel to the disc surface.

As shown in FIG. 5( c) and FIG. 6, a peak-shaped receiver 55 is formedon the chassis 12 and abuts each contact 53 when the chucking isreleased at each position of the contacts 53 on the two sides of theloading roller support 46. As shown in FIG. 5( b) and FIG. 6, a firstlinking portion 56 is provided on the chassis 12 for stopping andpositioning the base 17 relative to the chassis 12 in a directionparallel to the disc surface. The first linking portion 56 has anL-shaped linking piece 57, which rises from the base plate of thechassis 12 and is bent backward. A lock groove 58 is formed on the frontend of the linking piece 57 for engaging the guide 54. The front side ofthe lock groove 58 becomes wider toward the front.

As shown in FIG. 3, the disc rotation mechanism 21 has a turntable 61 onwhich is removably installed the center hole of the disc D loaded at thereproduction position of the base 17, such that this turntable 61 isrotated by a spindle motor 62 mounted on the underside of the base 17.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5( a), the chuck mechanism 22 has a chuckarm 65, which functions as a chucking body arranged on the back side onthe base 17, and a clamp 66 for chucking the disc D between the clamp 66and the turntable 61 is rotatably mounted at the center of the front endof the chuck arm 65 by a clamp fixture 67. Bent mounting pieces 68 areformed on the two sides of the chuck arm 65, and the two mounting pieces68 are rotatably supported by a support shaft 70 on the support 69 onthe two back sides of the base 17. The front end of the chuck arm 65swings downward to chuck the disc D during chucking, and the front endof the chuck arm 65 swings upward and to unchuck the disc D whenreleasing the chucking.

A receiver 71 is formed on the mounting piece 68 on the right side ofthe chuck arm 65, and one end of a spring 72 attached to the base 17 isconnected to the receiver 71. The spring 72 urges the front end of thechuck arm 65 downward in the chucking direction.

Contacts 73 protrude at positions near the two front end of the chuckarm 65 so as to press against the cover 13 when the front end of thechuck arm 65 is swung upward and unchucked. Synthetic resin receivers 74are attached at a position abutting each contact 73 on the cover plate13.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pick-up 23 moves, by means of the pick-upmoving mechanism 24, in the radial direction of the disc D opposite thesurface of the disc D on which is recorded information, and reads theinformation recorded on the rotating disc D through an aperture 76provided in the base 17.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 7, the pick-up moving mechanism 24 has apick-up moving platform 79 on which is installed the pick-up 23, and thepick-up moving platform 79 is supported so as to be movable in the innercircumference direction or outer circumference direction of the disc Dby a feed shaft 80 arranged so as to be rotatable on one side of theaperture 76 of the base 17 and along a guide edge 81 formed in the otherside thereof.

A rotatable pick-up transmission gear 82 separably contacting the idlergear 33 is arranged on one end of the feed shaft 80. A bevel gear 84attached to the feed shaft 80 engages a bevel gear 83 attached to thepick-up transmission gear 82.

Both ends of the feed shaft 80 are rotatably supported on the base 17,and the shaft is provided with a spiral threaded portion 85. One end ofthe threaded portion 85 has a small diameter portion 86, which issmaller than the threaded portion 85 in the moving direction toward theinner circumference direction of the pick-up moving platform 79.

A pick guide 89 is attached to the pick-up moving platform 79 so as toconfront the feed shaft 80. A first tooth portion 90 is formed on thepick guide 89 so as to engage the threaded portion 85 of the feed shaft80. A belleville spring 92 is attached to the second tooth portion 91,which engages the threaded portion 85 of the feed shaft 80. The pick-upmoving platform 79 is moved in the inner circumference direction or theouter circumference direction by the engagement of the threaded portion85 and the first tooth portion 90 and the second tooth portion 91 viathe rotation of the feed shaft 80. When the pick-up moving platform 79moves to the innermost position, the movement of the pick-up movingplatform 79 is restricted at the innermost position, the first toothportion 90 enters the small diameter portion 86 and the engagement isreleased, and the second tooth portion 91 is disengaged by theelasticity of the belleville spring 92 such that the drive forcetransmission is cut. That is, a transmission cutting means 93 cuts thetransmission of the drive force from the pick-up transmission gear 82 tothe pick-up 23.

A stopper 95 protrudes from the endface 94 of the pick guide 89, and astop groove 96 is formed on the top surface of the stopper 95.

A switch 97 is provided on the top of the base 17 for detecting that thepick-up moving platform 79 has moved to the inner circumferenceposition.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the switching mechanism 25 has a sliderdrive gear 100 for transmitting the drive force of the motor 28, and afirst slider 101 and second slider 102, which functions as loadingmembers for transmitting the drive force from the slider drive gear 100.The first slider 101 of the switching mechanism 25 holds a firstposition until the disc D reaches the reproduction position by means ofthe loading mechanism 20, and when the disc D has arrived at thereproduction position, the first slider 101 is moved toward the secondposition. During the process of moving toward the second position, thefirst slider 101 blocks the drive force to the loading mechanism 20 andis constructed as a drive force switching means to transmit the driveforce to the pick-up moving mechanism 24.

The slider drive gear 100 is rotatably supported by a pin 103 protrudingfrom the base 17 and engages the intermediate gear 37.

The first slider 101 has an integrated slider base 106, which isarranged on the lower surface of the base 17, and slider side portion107, which is arranged on the right side surface of the base 17. Theslider base 106 and the slider side portion 107 are arranged to bemovable in forward-and-back directions corresponding to the loadingdirection. A back position is designated as a first positioncorresponding to an unloading end position or unloading standby position(position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and a front position is designated asa second position corresponding to a disc reproduction position, loadingend position, or unloading start position (position shown in FIG. 11).

On the front and back parts of the slider base 106 of the first slider101, elongated holes 109 and 110 are formed extending in theforward-and-back direction to receive the front and back pins 103 and108 provided in the base 17 so as to guide the movement of the firstslider 101 in the forward-and-back direction.

On the right side of the elongated hole 109 on the front side of theslider base 106, an insertion groove 113, in which a pin 112 of the base17 is inserted, extends in the forward-and-back direction. On the leftside of the elongated hole 109, a cam groove 115 capable of engaging acam pin 114 of a swing plate 32 is formed, and a projection 116 capableof engaging the swing plate 32 is formed on the right side of the camgroove 115. The cam groove 115 is open on the front end and the frontportion is linear in a front-to-back direction, whereas the back portionis inclined to the right side. When the first slider 101 is positionedat the back side first position, the cam pin 114 of the swing plate 32is separated from the cam groove 115 to the front. However, the swingplate 32 engages the projection 116 to hold the idler gear 33 in a stateseparated from the pick-up transmission gear 82. In the movement rangein which the first slider 101 moves from the back side first position tojust before the front side second position, the straight portion of thecam groove 115 moves while engaged with the cam pin 114, and the idlergear 33 is held separated from the pick-up transmission gear 82. Theright side inclined portion of the cam groove 115 engages the cam pin114 when the first slider 101 is moved to the front side secondposition, and the swing plate 32 is rotated to engage the idler gear 33with the pick-up transmission gear 82.

In the center of the slider base 106, a trapezoidal connector hole 120,which engages a connecting pin 119 projecting from the second slider102, is formed.

On the right side back end of the slider base 106, a projection 123,which engages the end 72 a of the other end of the spring 72, is formed.On the left side back end, a notch 124 is formed. The end 72 a of thespring 72 is L-shaped, and the end 72 a of the spring 72 engages thefront side of the projection 123 when the first slider 101 is at thefirst position to restrict the return of the first slider 101 in theforward direction, as shown in FIG. 5( a). That is, a return restrictingmechanism 125 is constructed for restricting the return of the firstslider 101 from the first position to the second position by means ofthe projection 123 and the spring 72.

On the front side of the slider side portion 107, an elongated hole 128is formed in the front-to-back direction for engaging the end of theshaft of the worm gear 38, and a cam groove 129 is formed for engagingone end of the roller shaft 45. As shown in FIG. 8, the cam groove 129has a loading groove portion 130 for maintaining a loading position atwhich the gear 47 engages the end gear 39 and the loading roller 43 israised by the movement of the first slider 101 to the first position, anunloading groove portion 131 for maintaining a loading operation releaseposition at which the gear 47 is separated from the end gear 39 and theloading roller 43 is lowered by the movement of the first slider 101 tothe second position, and an inclined groove portion 132 medial to theloading groove portion 130 and the unloading groove portion 131. Aprojection 133 is formed at the entrance to the unloading groove portion131, such that after the first slider 101 is moved to the secondposition and the unloading groove portion 131 has engaged the rollershaft 45, the back side return of the first slider 101 is restricted.That is, a return restricting mechanism 125 is constructed forrestricting the return of the first slider 101 from the second positionto the first position by means of the roller shaft 45 and the projection133.

On the back side of the slider side portion 107, a chuck operatingportion 136 is formed to release the chuck by raising the receiver 71 ofthe chuck arm 65 at the first position of the first slider 101 andseparating the first slider 101 from the receiver 71 by moving the firstslider 101 to the second position, as shown in FIG. 5( a).

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5( b), a guide 139, functioning asa second positioning portion, is formed at the back of the slider base106 of the first slider 101. As shown in FIG. 5( b) and FIG. 6, a secondconnector 140 is provided on the chassis 12 for engaging the guide 139when the slider 101 is moved to the first position and positioning thebase 17 relative to the chassis 12 in a direction parallel to the discsurface. The second connector 140 has an L-shaped connector piece 141,which rises from the base plate of the chassis 12 and is bent to thefront, and a lock groove 142 is formed on the front end of the connectorpiece 141 for engaging the guide 139. The front end of the lock groove142 is open toward the front.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5( b), on the back side and top and bottomportions of the front side of the slider side 107, contacts 143, 144,and 145 are formed for contacting the chassis 12 when the first slider101 is moved to the first position. On the chassis 12, unilateralconnectors 146, 147, and 148 are formed for engaging each of thecontacts 143, 144, and 145 of the first slider 101 and positioning thebase 17 relative to the chassis 12 in a direction perpendicular to thedisc surface when the first slider 101 is moved to the first position.The contact 143 is positioned in contact with the top surface of theunilateral connector 146, the contact 144 is positioned in contact withthe lower surface of the unilateral contact 147, and the contact 145 ispositioned in contact with the lower surface of the unilateral connector148.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, on the second slider 102, an elongatedhole 151 is formed in the front-to-back direction for engaging a pin 108of the base 17. The second slider 102 is movably connected to the firstslider 101 in a range in which the connecting pin 119 moves in theconnector hole 120 of the slider 101 in the front-to-back direction andthe swinging direction about the pin 108, and moves to the firstposition and second position together with the first slider 101.

On the front end of the second slider 102, a lever 152 is formed on theright side of the slider drive gear 100, and on the lever 152, a rack153 which is capable of engaging a gear 100 a of the slider drive gear100 is formed.

On the lever 152, a cam groove 154 is formed for engaging a pin 112 ofthe base 17. The cam groove 154 has a restricting portion 155, extendingin the front-to-back direction, and a first stopper portion 156 and asecond stopper portion 157 which become wider on the left side at therack 153 at the front and back ends of the restricting portion 155. Atthe first position or the second position of the second slider 102, thepin 112 engages the first stopper portion 156 or the second stopperportion 157, such that the second slider 102 is allowed to swing and therack 153 engages or disengages the gear 100 a of the slider drive gear100, and at an intermediate position between the first position andsecond position of the second slider 102, the pin 112 engages therestricting groove 155, such that the swinging of the second slider 102is restricted and the rack 153 is maintained in a state of engagementwith the gear 100 a of the slider drive gear 100.

A spring 158 is mounted on the first slider 101 as an urging means forurging the second slider 102 in a direction to separate the rack 153from the gear 100 a of the slider drive gear 100.

A connector piece 159 projects from the back end of the second slider102, and a connector piece 160 projects from the left side of the secondslider 102 facing the pick-up moving mechanism 24.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, during loading, a loading side triggermember 163 is provided to swing the second slider 102 when it is incontact with the disc D at the first position so that the rack 153engages the slider drive gear 100. The loading side trigger member 163is supported so as to be rotatable and pivot on a fulcrum 164 of thechuck arm 65, and is provided with a disc contact 165 for contacting thedisc D, and a contact 166 for contacting the connector piece 159 of thesecond slider 102.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 and FIG. 7, during unloading,an unloading side trigger member 169 is provided to swing the secondslider 102 at the second position when it is in contact with the pick-up23 side and moving toward the center of the disc D, such that the rack153 engages the slider drive gear 100. The unloading side trigger member169 is L-shaped and the center portion is supported so as to rotatableby a support shaft 170 on the base 17 side. On one end, a contact 171capable of making contact with the endface 94 of the pick guide 89 isformed. On the other end, a contact 172 capable of making contact withthe connector piece 160 of the second slider 102 is formed. On theconnector 171, a projection 173 capable of engaging the stop groove 96of the pick guide 89 is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5(c), and 10, a connector 177, which is capable ofpivoting on the fulcrum 176, is mounted on the base 17 on the left sideof the back end of the first slider 101. On the connector 177, aprojection 178 which is capable of engaging the notch 124 of the firstslider 101 is formed so that when the first slider 101 is moved to thefirst position, it is rotated in a counterclockwise direction in FIG.10, and when moved to the second position it is rotated in a clockwisedirection in FIG. 10. On the lower surface of the connector 177, anL-shaped stopper 179 capable of engaging the base 17 side when the firstslider 101 is moved to the first position is formed. As shown in FIGS.3, 5(c), and 6, an L-shaped stopper piece 180 projects from the chassis12 for engaging the stopper 179 of the connector 177 and positioning thebase 17 relative to the chassis 12 in a direction perpendicular to thedisc surface when the first slider 101 is moved to the first position.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5(c), and 6, a bent contact 183 is formed on theback of the base 17, and a receiver 184 is formed on the chassis 12 soas to contact the contact 183 when the chuck is released and the chuckarm 65 contacts the cover 13 and presses the base 17 downward.

The operation of the disc player will now be described.

FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 6 illustrate the player when a disc is not loaded.Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show a disc D in the process of being loaded, theposition of each mechanism is the same as prior to the loading of thedisc D.

The sliders 101 and 102 are set at the back side first position, and thefirst stop groove 156, which is provided on the front end of the camgroove 154 of the second slider 102, engages the pin 112, and the rack153 is removed to the rightward direction of the slider drive gear 100.The swing plate 32 engages the projection 116 of the first slider 101,and the idler gear 33 is separated from the pick-up transmission gear82.

The contact 172 of the unloading side trigger member 169 engages theleft side surface of the first slider 101, and the projection 173 of theunloading side trigger member 169 engages the stop groove 96 of the pickguide 89 so as to lock the pick-up moving platform 79.

As shown in FIG. 5, the roller shaft 45 of the loading roller 43 israised by the cam groove 129 of the first slider 101 such that the discD is held between the loading roller 43 and the guide plate 42, and thegear 47 engages the end gear 39. Furthermore, the chuck arm 65 is raisedby the chuck operating portion 136 of the first slider 101 to the chuckrelease position.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each contact 53 of the loading roller support46 contacts the top surface of the receiver 55 of the chassis 12, thecontacts 73 of the chuck arm 65 contact the lower surface of thereceiver 74 of the cover 13 and the base 17 is pressed downward relativeto the chassis 12, the contact 183 of the base 17 contacts the receiver184 of the chassis 12, the contacts 143, 144, and 145 of the slider side107 of the first slider 101 contact the unilateral connectors 146, 147,and 148 on one side of the chassis 12, the stopper 179 of the connector177 engages the stop piece 180 of the chassis 12, and the base 17 is setrelative to the chassis 12 at a position in a direction perpendicular tothe disc surface. The guide 54 of the loading roller support 46 engagesthe first linking portion 56, the guide 139 of the first slider 101engages the second connector 140 of the chassis 12, and the base 17 isset relative to the chassis 12 in a direction parallel to the discsurface. Accordingly, the base 17, which is supported in a floatingstate, is in a floating state fixed relative to the chassis 12.

The operation for loading the disc D will now be described.

When a disc D is inserted into the disc insertion elongated hole 14, theinsertion of the disc D is detected by a special insertion detectionswitch, and the motor 28 rotates in the loading direction. When themotor 28 rotates in the loading direction, the drive gear 30 is rotatedin a clockwise direction in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the drive force from thedrive gear 30 is transmitted to the loading roller 43 through theloading transmission gear 36, the intermediate gear 37, the worm gear38, the end gear 39, and the gear 47, such that the loading roller 43 isrotated in the loading direction.

When the leading end of the disc D is inserted into the disc insertionelongated hole 14 and held between the guide plate 42 and the loadingroller 43, the disc D starts to be transported toward the reproductionposition within the body 11 by the loading roller 43.

While the disc D is being transported to the reproduction position, onlythe loading mechanism operates and the other mechanisms are maintainedin the initial state. That is, although the drive gear 30 is rotated bythe drive motor 28, the idler gear 33 and slider drive gear 100 onlyidle, and the drive force is not transmitted to the separated pick-uptransmission gear 82 and sliders 101 and 102.

Then, when the disc D reaches the reproduction position, as shown inFIG. 9, the leading edge of the disc D in the loading direction contactsthe disc contact 165 of the loading side trigger member 163, and theloading side trigger member 163 rotates on the fulcrum 164 in aclockwise direction in FIG. 9, and the second slider 102 is swung on thepin 108 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 9 against the force of thespring 158 by the contact 166 of the loading side trigger member 163.

When the second slider 102 swings in the clockwise direction in FIG. 9,the first stop groove 156, which is provided on the front end of the camgroove 154 of the second slider 102, is removed from the pin 112, andthe rack 153 engages the gear 100 a of the slider drive gear 100, andthe second slider 102 moves toward the front side second position. Whenthe movement of the second slider 102 begins, the restricting groove 155of the cam groove 154 engages the pin 112, and the swinging of thesecond slider 102 is restricted, and the rack 153 is maintained in astate of engagement with the slider drive gear 100.

The movement of the second slider 102 brings the connecting pin 119 ofthe second slider 102 into contact with the connector hole 120 of thefirst slider 101, and the first slider 101, linked to the second slider102, starts to move to the front side second position.

As shown in FIG. 12, the movement of the first slider 101 causes theloading shaft 45 of the loading roller 43 to be pushed downward by thecam groove 129 of the first slider 101, such that the loading roller 43is separated from the disc D and the gear 47 is separated from the endgear 39, such that the loading roller 43 stops rotating. Furthermore,the chuck arm 65 releases the lift provided by the chuck operatingportion 136 of the first slider 101 relative to the receiver 71, and islowered by the force of the spring 72, so as to chuck the disc D betweenthe clamp 66 and turntable 61.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the contacts 53 of the loading rollersupport 46 are separated from receivers 55 of the chassis 12, thecontacts 73 of the chuck arm 65 are separated from the receiver 74 ofthe cover 13, the pressing of the base 17 on the chassis 12 is released,the contacts 183 of the base 17 separate from the receivers 184 of thechassis 12, the contacts 143, 144, and 145 of the slider side 107 of thefirst slider 101 separate from the unilateral connectors 146, 147, and148 on one side of the chassis 12, the stopper 179 of the connector 177separates from the stop piece 180 of the chassis 12, and the base 17 isreleased from the position in a direction perpendicular to the discsurface relative to the chassis 12. Furthermore, the guide 54 of theloading roller support 46 is separated from the first linking portion 56of the chassis 12, and the guide 139 of the first slider 101 isseparated from the second connector 140 of the chassis 12, such that thebase 17 is released from the position in a direction parallel to thedisc surface relative to the chassis 12. Accordingly, the floating lock,which fixes the base 17 relative to the chassis 12, is released, and thebase 17 is supported in a floating state relative to the chassis 12.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, if each slider 101 and 102 is moved tothe second position, the second stop groove 157 provided on the back endof the cam groove 154 of the second slider 102 reaches the position ofthe pin 112, and, as shown in FIG. 11, the force of the spring 158swings the second slider 102 about the pin 108 in a counterclockwisedirection in FIG. 11, the second stop groove 157 engages the pin 112,and the rack 153 is removed to the right from the slider drive gear 100.Accordingly, the movement of each slider 101 and 102 stops at the secondposition.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 12( a), the first slider 101 is moved to thesecond position, the loading release groove 131 engages the roller shaft45, and the roller shaft 45 is stopped by the projection 133 provided atthe entrance of the unloading groove 131, such that the return of thefirst slider 101 from the second position to the first position isrestricted.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the first slider 101 ismoved to the front side second position, the connector piece 160 of thesecond slider 102 engages the contact 172 of the unloading side triggermember 169, and the unloading side trigger member 169 is rotated in theclockwise direction in FIG. 10, such that the projection 173 is removedfrom the stop groove 96 of the pick-up moving platform 79 to release thelock of the pick-up moving platform 79.

The swing plate 32 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 10 bythe cam groove 115 of the first slider 101, and the idler gear 33engages the pick-up transmission gear 82 and the pick-up transmissiongear 82 is rotated.

The drive force transmitted to the pick-up transmission gear 82 is thentransmitted to the feed shaft 80, and the feed shaft 80 is rotated. Whenthe feed shaft 80 rotates, the pick-up moving platform 79 is moved inthe outer circumference direction via the engagement of the threadedportion 85 of the feed shaft 80 and the second tooth portion 91 of thebelleville spring 92, then the first tooth portion 90 of the pick guide89 engages the threaded portion 85 via the movement of the pick-upmoving platform 79 in the outer circumference direction to obtain anactual state of engagement.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, after the movement of the sliders 101and 102 has stopped when the sliders 101 and 102 are at the secondposition, the motor 28 reversely rotates, and the pick-up movingplatform 79, which has moved to the outer circumference side, isreturned to the reproduction position on the inner circumference side.At the moment the pick-up moving platform 79 moves to the outercircumference side, the switch 97 is switched and the spindle motor 62rotates, and the TOC information recorded at the innermost circumferenceof the data recording region of the disc D is read by the pick-up 23which has returned to the inner circumference side reproduction positionto enable the reproduction of the disc D.

During the disc D reproduction operation, the sliders 101 and 102 areheld at the front side second position, the rack 153 of the secondslider 102 disengages and is separated from the slider drive gear 100,and the idler gear 33 is held in the engaged state with the pick-uptransmission gear 82, such that the drive force of the motor 28 istransmitted only to the pick-up moving mechanism 24. Therefore, when themotor 28 drives in the forward or reverse rotation, the pick-up 23 ismoved in the inner circumference direction or the outer circumferencedirection of the disc D.

The disc D unloading operation will now be described.

During unloading, the motor 28 rotates in the unloading direction whichis opposite the loading direction, and the pick-up moving platform 79 ismoved to the innermost circumference position, as shown in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 14, when the pick-up moving platform 79 moves to theinnermost circumference position, the endface 94 of the pick guide 89contacts the contact 171 of the unloading side trigger member 169, andthe unloading side trigger member 169 is rotated on the support shaft170 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 14.

The contact 172 of the unloading side trigger member 169 engages theconnector piece 160 of the second slider 102, and the second slider 102swings on the pin 108 in a clockwise direction in FIG. 14 against theforce of the spring 158.

When the second slider 102 swings in the clockwise direction in FIG. 14,the second stop groove 157 provided on the back end of the cam groove154 of the second slider 102 is removed from the pin 112, and the rack153 engages the gear 100 a of the slider transmission gear 100, suchthat the second slider 102 is moved toward to the back side firstposition. When the movement of the second slider 102 starts, therestricting groove 155 of the cam groove 154 engages the pin 112, suchthat the swinging of the second slider 102 is restricted and the rack153 is held in a state of engagement with the slider drive gear 100.

When the second slider 102 moves, the connecting pin 119 of the secondslider 102 contacts the back edge of the connector hole 120 of the firstslider 101, and the first slider 101 linked to the second slider 102starts to move to the back side first position.

When the first slider 101 moves, the chuck arm 65 releases the chuck ofthe disc D with the receiver 71 raised by the chuck operating portion136 of the first slider 101, as shown in FIG. 5. Furthermore, the rollershaft 45 of the loading roller 43 is raised by the cam groove 129 of thefirst slider 101, and the disc D is held between the loading roller 43and the guide plate 42 and the gear 47 engages the end gear 39, suchthat the disc D is transported forward in the unloading direction.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each contact 53 of the loading roller support46 contacts the top surface of the receivers 55, the contact 73 of thechuck arm 65 contacts the lower surface of the receiver 74 of the cover13, and the base 17 is pressed downward relative to the chassis 12, thecontacts 183 of the base 17 contacts the receivers 184 of the chassis12, and the contacts 143, 144, and 145 of the slider side 107 of thefirst slider 101 contact the unilateral connectors 146, 147, and 148 onone side of the chassis 12, the stopper 179 of the connector 177 engagesthe stop piece 180 of the chassis 12, and the base 17 is positioned in adirection perpendicular to the surface of the disc D relative to thechassis 12. Then, the guide 54 of the loading roller support 46 engagesthe first linking 56 of the shaft 12 and the guide 139 of the firstslider 101 engages the second connector 140 of the chassis 12, such thatthe base 17 is positioned in a direction parallel to the surface of thedisc D relative to the chassis 12. Accordingly, the base 17, which issupported in a floating state, is set in a floating state fixed relativeto the chassis 12.

In FIG. 14, when the first slider 101 moves to the back side from thefront side second position, the spring plate 32 is rotated in acounterclockwise direction in FIG. 14 by the cam groove 115 of the firstslider 101, and the idler gear 33 is separated from the pick-uptransmission gear 82, such that the transmission of the drive force tothe pick-up moving mechanism 24 is cut.

Since the drive force from the motor 28 continues to be transmitted tothe pick-up moving mechanism 24 until the transmission of the driveforce to the pick-up moving mechanism 24 is cut, the rotation of thefeed shaft 80 is continuous even though the pick-up moving platform 79reaches the innermost circumference position and movement is restricted.As shown in FIG. 7, when the pick-up moving platform 79 has moved to theinnermost circumference position, the first tooth portion 90 enters thesmall diameter portion 86 and the engagement is released, and the secondtooth portion 91 disengages by means of the flexibility of thebelleville spring 92 and the transmission of the drive force is cut.

As shown in FIG. 15, if the sliders 101 and 102 are moved to the firstposition, the first stop groove 156 provided on the front end of the camgroove 154 of the second slider 102 reaches the position of the pin 112,the second slider 102 is swung on the pin 108 in a counterclockwisedirection in FIG. 15 by the force of the spring 158, the first stopgroove 156 engages the pin 112, and the rack 153 is removed to the rightfrom the slider drive gear 100. Accordingly, the movement of the firstand second sliders 101 and 102 is stopped at the second position.

The motor 28 is stopped at the moment the front edge of the disc D inthe unloading direction protrudes by a predetermined measurement fromthe disc insertion elongated hole 14.

As described above, drive force is constantly transmitted to the loadingmechanism 20 by the loading transmission gear 36, which constantlyengages a drive gear 30 driven by a single motor 28. The pick-up movingmechanism 24 is constructed to separably connect the idler gear 33,which constantly engages the drive gear 30, to the pick-up transmissiongear 82 of the pick-up moving mechanism 24. The idler gear 33 engagesand disengages the pick-up transmission gear 82 by means of the firstslider 101 moving to a first position when a disc D is not loaded and asecond position when a disc D is loaded. Thus, since there is no neutralpoint in the transmission of the drive force at which the drive force isnot transmitted to both the loading mechanism 20 and the pick-up movingmechanism 24, operational stability is achieved, and separate parts arenot required to stabilize their operation, such that the transmissionand switching of a drive force from a single motor can be reliablyaccomplished. Moreover, the first slider 101 is moved to the first andsecond positions by the second slider 102 which receives the drive forcefrom the drive gear 30, thereby providing a simple construction.

At each of the first and second positions, if the second slider 102 isswung against the force of the spring 158 and the rack 153 engages theslider drive gear 100, the first slider 101 moves together with thesecond slider 102, and if the first slider 101 moves to each of thefirst and second positions, the second slider 102 is swung by the forceof the spring 158 such that the rack 153 is removed from the sliderdrive gear 100, and the first and second sliders 101 and 102 arestopped.

Furthermore, during loading, the second slider 102, which is set at thefirst position, is swung by means of the loading side trigger member163, which is in contact with the disc D, and the rack 153 is engagedwith the slider drive gear 100 by means of the second slider 102. Duringunloading, the second slider 102, which is set at the second position,is swung to engage the rack 153 and the slider drive gear 100 by meansof the unloading side trigger member 169, which is in contact with thepick-up 23 side moving toward the center of the disc D.

Since the unloading side trigger member 169 stops the pick-up 23 side bythe first slider 101 moving from the second position, positionaldislocation of the pick-up 23 is prevented when a disc D is not loaded.

In addition, the return restricting means 125 restricts the return ofthe first slider 101 moving to the first and second positions so as toprevent erroneous operation.

In the loading mechanism 20, the loading operation is ended by themovement of the first slider 101 to the second position, and since theloading operation condition is switched by the movement of the firstslider 101 from the second position, the loading operation is reliablyswitched even when drive force is constantly transmitted to the loadingmechanism 20.

Furthermore, in the pick-up moving mechanism 24, the unloading operationis allowed because the transmission cutting means 93 is provided forcutting the transmission of the drive force from the pick-uptransmission gear 82 to the pick-up 23 until the transmission of thedrive force is cut from the idler gear 33 to the pick-up transmissiongear 82 by the movement of the first slider 101 from the second positionduring unloading.

The disc used in the disc drive device is not limited to a 12 cm compactdisc for music reproduction, inasmuch as an 8 cm compact disc for musicreproduction may be applicable, and optical discs, magneto-opticaldiscs, flexible magnetic discs and the like are also applicable whileobtaining the same advantages.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disc drive device of the present invention is applicable to discplayers, disc recording and reproducing devices capable of recording ona disc, disc drive devices for compact discs, and drive devices usingvarious types of discs such as optical discs, magneto-optical discs,flexible magnetic discs and the like.

1. A disc drive device comprising: a drive gear rotated by a motor; aloading mechanism, including a loading transmission gear constantlyengaging the drive gear, for loading and unloading a disc with driveforce transmitted from the loading transmission gear; a pick-up movingmechanism, including a pick-up transmission gear, for moving a pick-upwith drive force transmitted to the pick-up transmission gear; an idlergear constantly engaging the drive gear and separably engaging thepick-up transmission gear; a first slider moved between a firstposition, which is maintained when a disc is not loaded, and a secondposition, which is maintained when a disc is loaded, to engage the idlergear and the pick-up transmission gear when moved to the second positionand to disengage the idler gear and the pick-up transmission gear whenmoved from the second position; a second slider for moving the firstslider to the second position by transmitting drive force from the drivegear to the first slider located at the first position when loading thedisc and moving the first slider to the first position by transmittingthe drive force from the drive gear to the first slider located at thesecond position when unloading the disc; a slider drive sear rotatedwhen drive force is transmitted from the drive gear, wherein the secondslider includes a rack moved together with the first slider and beingswingable relative to the first slider, held engaged with the sliderdrive sear at a position intermediate to the first position and secondposition, and separably engaged with the slider drive gear at te firstposition and the second position; and an urging means for urging thesecond slider in a direction to separate a rack from the slider drivegear.
 2. The disc drive device according to claim 1, further comprising:a loading side trigger member contacting the disc during loading andswinging the second slider located at the first position to engage therack with the slider drive gear; and an unloading side trigger membercontacting the pick-up side moving toward the center of the disc duringunloading and swinging the second slider located at the second positionto engage the rack with the slider drive gear.
 3. The disc drive deviceof claim 2, wherein the unloading side trigger member stops the pick-upby moving the first slider from the second position and releases thepick-up by moving the first slider to the second position.
 4. The discdrive device according to claim 1, further comprising: a returnrestricting means for restricting returning of the first slider fromeither of the first and second positions.
 5. The disc drive deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein: the loading mechanism ends the loadingoperation by moving the first slider to the second position and switchesto the loading operation state by moving the first slider from thesecond position.
 6. The disc drive device according to claim 1, wherein:the pick-up moving mechanism includes a transmission cutting means forcutting the transmission of the drive force from the pick-uptransmission gear to the pick-up during the time from when the firstslider moves from the second position during unloading to when thetransmission of the drive force from the idler gear to the pick-uptransmission gear is cut.